WAZZUP with Steve Wallace? Rusty’s son likely left Montreal with steam coming out of both ears following a full Sunday afternoon that had him dealing with one on track crisis after the other. That included triggering a multi car wreck after trying to go three wide into a sharp turn with only four laps left in the race. It also included at least three run ins with road racer Antonio Perez with some of that action appearing to be on the personal side.
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Whether or not NASCAR racing in the rain is a HOORAH or a WAZZUP depends on an individual fan’s perception as they were watching the events unfold.
First off a HOORAH definitely goes out to Goodyear for being well prepared with their rain tire. The treaded tire proved that it had grip and even worked on some of the dried out portions of the track late in the race when the rain stopped. We even got to see the tire provide enough traction to allow a driver to remove his car from a gravel pit after a spin out.
Having said that: WAZZUP with that on track action that occurred once the rain tires were put on? With 16 laps left in the race NASCAR sent the drivers to pit road where they were allowed a five minute period to get their cars rain ready. That process also included the installation of a windshield wiper, defrosters and brake lights.
What followed were three more caution flags for wrecks that occurred during the final 11 laps of the race. Whether or not that was due to a rain slick track, a driver’s lack of experience racing in the rain or just plain old aggression while trying to pick up an extra finish position is hard to say. However the end of this race had the makings of a demolition derby judging from the way the cars ran into each other. It prompted driver Brad Keselowski to say afterwards “the experience turned race car drivers into dare devils.”
The least case scenario tells us that NASCAR racing in the rain is a work in progress. The problem is: the only way to improve it is to race in the rain while hoping we don’t see more of what happened during the final 11 laps of the Montreal race.
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Let’s also send a HOORAH this week to Kyle Busch for his outstanding performance that led to winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Friday night at the Chicagoland Speedway. Busch led 79 of the 150 laps and passed Todd Bodine with seven laps left en route to his second, consecutive, series win, his fourth of the season and his 13th career series win.
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The final WAZZUP of the week goes to Carl Edwards. Edwards and Marcos Ambrose were planning to make their series debut in Saturday’s Grand American Rolex Series race in Montreal. They were scheduled to start seventh on the field in a Ford Dallara prepared by Doran Racing for the Daytona Prototype racing class. However, a rain soaked track caused Edwards to crash the Aflac Insurance sponsored car during the pre race warm up laps. Really Carl? The warm up laps? When that race car left the track and hit the tire barriers you could almost see the feathers from the Aflac duck flying through the air.
On the opposite extreme, but directly related, is the final HOORAH of the week which goes to NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Brendan Gaughan who also made his Grand American Rolex Series debut in Saturday’s sports car race. Driving a TRG Racing Porsche in the GT3 class, Gaughan and his team mate, road race veteran Andy Lally, finished second following a very impressive performance under very dire weather conditions.
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